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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Arranging a piece of music for an orchestra. Also - the study of music.






2. A single line of music played or sung. A musical sentence.






3. The voice between soprano and alto. Also - in sheet music - a direction for the tempo to be played at medium speed.






4. A short piano piece - often improvisational and intimate in character.






5. A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.






6. 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.






7. The principal note of a triad.






8. A string of chords played in succession.






9. Combination of two or more keys being played at the same time.






10. A composition written for eight instruments.






11. A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.






12. Combining a number of individual but harmonizing melodies. Also known as counterpoint.






13. A line in a contrapuntal work performed by an individual voice or instrument.






14. The opening section of a piece of music or movement.






15. Music that is easy to listen to and understand.






16. Originally an improvised cadence by a soloist. Later it became a written out passage to display performance skills of an instrumentalist or performer.






17. The technique of altering the tone color of a single note or musical line by changing from one instrument to another in the middle of a note or line.






18. One of the two modes of the tonal system. The minor mode can be identified by the dark - melancholic mood.






19. A dirge - hymn - or musical service for the repose of the dead.






20. Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played gracefully.






21. A short or brief sonata.






22. Initially an improvised cadence by a soloist; later becoming an elaborate and written out passage in an aria or concerto - featuring the skills of an instrumentalist or vocalist.






23. The intonation - pitch - and modulation of a composition expressing the meaning - feeling - or attitude of the music.






24. A form of Italian opera beginning at the end of the 19th century. The setting is contemporary to the composer's own time - and the characters are modeled after every day life.






25. The unit of musical rhythm.






26. Music that is written and performed without regard to any specific key.






27. Suite of Baroque dances.






28. Movement or passage that concludes the musical composition.






29. A separate section of a larger composition.






30. Three notes played in the same amount of time as one or two beats.






31. The frequency of a note determining how high or low it sounds.






32. A lighthearted piece - written in several movements - usually as background music for a social function.






33. Either of the two octave arrangements in modern music. The modes are either major or minor.






34. One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo - phrasing - dynamics - and style by gestures and facial expressions.






35. A composition written for eight instruments.






36. A whole note is equal to 2 half notes - 4 quarter notes - 8 eighth notes - etc.






37. Ability to determine the pitch of a note as it relates to the notes that precede and follow it.






38. Movement in music where the characteristics are crisp and direct.






39. A composition based on previous work. A common technique used in Medieval and Renaissance music.






40. Short detached notes - as opposed to legato.






41. A system of notation for stringed instruments. The notes are indicated by the finger positions.






42. Pertaining to the sonata form - a fast movement in triple time.






43. A numeric symbol in sheet music determining the number of beats to a measure.






44. Elaborate polyphonic composition of the Boroque and Renaissance periods.






45. The first tone of a scale also known as a keynote.






46. Successive notes of a key or mode either ascending or descending.






47. Rapid alternation between notes that are a half tone or whole tone apart.






48. Pleasing combination of two or three tones played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also refers to the study of chord progressions.






49. Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played smoothly.






50. A sequence of chords that brings an end to a phrase - either in the middle or the end of a composition.